The war general calculated the chances of success. Forty percent risk of harm with only two men as protection. Sixty percent risk of success. Odds I struggled to contain. Driven by that possibility, my body jerked to a stand.
Zethan’s hand clamped over my wrist and tugged me down. “What the fuck are you doing? We stay put. We’re only watching her.”
Sound advice. The plan.
The dark voice came back, coaxing me under its spell.Take her. Victory is yours. Lure your enemy out. Strike while the iron is hot!
Set snarled inside me and I knew it wasn’t him whispering murderous thoughts to me. Still, I couldn’t resist the urge of the alluring voice.
“The coast is clear.” I fought my enforcer’s grip. “We can nab her. Take her back to the cell. Question her. Set a trap for Raine.”
Fuck. That wasn’t the plan. Slade Vincent stuck to the plan, except when it went to shit. Right now, there was nothing sending us skidding off course.
No, but it’s what you want,the dark voice lulled me deeper, voicing my desires.
My War god demanding blood and vengeance.
Zethan’s palm burned as it tightened on my wrist. Any harder and he might dislocate my bone from the joint. “Not until we’ve spoken to the others. Stick to the plan. What the fuck’s wrong with you?”
You don’t take orders from him.The hypnotic voice dragged me into its void, and I lost track of my god’s snarls.He’s your subordinate.
A cold cloud swept over my mind, seizing it, convincing me it was right and I was wrong. Time to show Zethan who was in charge.
“The plan’s changed.” Even my voice didn’t sound like my own. Cold. Dead. “We act. NOW.”
Fuck. Something was wrong. I felt out of control. Possessed by another force, compelling me to do its bidding. I fought the bitter, frosty grip trying to bend me to its will, and lift me to my feet.
Cold swarmed around me. Faint green wisps blipped in and out of existence. A sea of faces. Angry. Surrounded. Trapped.
Zethan ripped at misty hands groping him, trying to haul him to his feet. “Fuck! What are the dead doing here?”
CHAPTER31
Zethan
The dead,summoned by another god.Anubis.With Colton close by.
Souls out of the Underworld where they didn’t belong. Wandering the fucking streets, where contact with the living spread the madness. An affliction, like the name, that drove people crazy with their demons.
Fuck. I had to send the souls back before they infected the two bodyguards or patrons and staff inside the casino. All hell would break loose if any got away.
Freed of my grasp, Slade climbed to a stand, his gaze a murderous midnight blue. Flames lit on his palms as he stalked after Faline, intent on capturing her. Fire the first missile and give Colton more ammunition to destroy us. Draw a War goddess into the fray. Another avatar to combat alongside Raine.
Faline stalked to the casino entrance unaware of the chaos about to unfold. Unusual for a War goddess with predatory senses… unless she was in on the ambush, like she was when she called in the armed riders to shout the fuck out of us. Damn woman worked with Colton to avenge her mate.
Ten or more souls surrounded me and more floated after Slade. Fuck, he was out in the open, unprotected. Faline and her men could take cover behind the six-inch submarine-type door. Send the full force of her security outside to meet us head-on. Vengeance for smashing up her casino furniture and beating up her men and refusing to pay repatriation. Open us up to an attack from Colton.
What the fuck was with Slade anyway? We were on the same page until we arrived at the casino. Him and his goddamn quest for vengeance.
Priorities thudded in my head. Return the souls to the Underworld before they hurt anyone. Protect my president from danger. Get the fuck out of here before Colton killed us both.
“Get your ass back here, Slade.” I sprang to my feet and wrestled my president to the ground, covering his body with mine.
Retaliating, he rolled us to our side and punched my jaw, snapping my head back. Asshole had a mean right hook. He shoved off me, leaving my vision spinning and jaw aching. I blinked, pushing myself off the ground. Everything rocked as I stumbled after three of him.
By the time my head cleared, Slade lumbered through the cluster of souls, steps stiff and awkward. Souls vanished in a puff of smoke. Fortunately for him, he escaped the effects of the madness because it didn’t affect avatars the way it did humans.
“Faline!” Slade shouted in a strangled voice.
